26x4.00 rigid fat bike vs 26x2.00-ish full suspension for comfort on roads and light trails?

zeddrick

1 mW
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Mar 6, 2020
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I'd have semi-slick tires on either and they'd both have a 3000w DD rear hub and 72v40ah batteries. 90% road use, lots of hills, moderate amount of rough roads. Would the full suspension be overkill? Would a rigid fat bike with full size 26"4.00 be able to take the small bumps and vibrations out of the road at such a high weight and speed level? The fat bike is simpler for not having to deal with suspension, but the tire choice is very limited and more expensive.

My current bike is an old rigid steel frame with 26x2.00 tires at as low a pressure as I feel safe on roads considering the heavy weight of the bike (90lbs). But when I'm carrying heavier cargo I feel it's at its limit for comfort, I've already hit small potholes at night and immediately broken spokes. I just want more comfort for me and for the rims and spokes in the event of night-time hidden potholes. I wish I could fit wider tires for my current bike but 26x2.00-2.10 seems to be the limit on my frame.
 
Fattest tires that fit in your frame, lowish pressure
Parallelogram suspension seatpost
Elastomer sprung saddle
Stand up when you're going to run over rough stuff.

These are all things that won't handicap your bike, cost a lot, or shorten its useful life. If you're at the point of getting an entirely new bike, a longtail cargo bike is the best improvement in comfort you can get without slowing the bike down or limiting its usefulness.

Spokes don't break because you hit potholes. They break because the wheel was poorly built, the spokes are crap quality, or a foreign object got stuck in the wheel. If they pop when you hit a pothole, they're just finishing a break that started a while back.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatigue_(material)
 
A quality FS bike with well-engineered suspension is an amazing experience. There is a big difference in ride quality and control between a cheap FS BSO and a better quality proven record FS. (Would have to see how much of that is preserved after fitting a heavy hubmotor.)

Fat tire can smooth out 2-3 inch bumps but a good FS can smooth out much greater size bumps and holes. Fat tire also more squirmy around turns.

Best use for fat tire actually is deep sand, mud, snow.
 
99t4 said:
A quality FS bike with well-engineered suspension is an amazing experience. There is a big difference in ride quality and control between a cheap FS BSO and a better quality proven record FS. (Would have to see how much of that is preserved after fitting a heavy hubmotor.)

Fat tire can smooth out 2-3 inch bumps but a good FS can smooth out much greater size bumps and holes. Fat tire also more squirmy around turns.

Best use for fat tire actually is deep sand, mud, snow.

This. Fat tire is for traction and 'float' over loose stuff. It does not work well as suspension at all (as I've found out to my chagrin a few years ago).
 
My main street commuter is an Electra cruiser with suspension seat-post to help with the upright "comfort" riding position.

Front suspension forks are vital on high-speed downhills, but they do add weight and cost. For flattish terrain on trails, I think you can get away with a solid fork.

Ive had a Thudbuster seatpost, and was very happy with it. I now have a Suntour NCX because it's a bit shorter, and they perform about the same.

My cruiser has 3-inch "mid fat" tires. I have found 4-inch fatties to be too squishy on 90 degree turns on the streets. For gentle turns on a trail they might be fine. Just be aware there are a lot of off-road bikes now with 3-inch tire options, which I like a lot.
 
spinningmagnets said:
My main street commuter is an Electra cruiser with suspension seat-post to help with the upright "comfort" riding position.

Front suspension forks are vital on high-speed downhills, but they do add weight and cost. For flattish terrain on trails, I think you can get away with a solid fork.

Ive had a Thudbuster seatpost, and was very happy with it. I now have a Suntour NCX because it's a bit shorter, and they perform about the same.

My cruiser has 3-inch "mid fat" tires. I have found 4-inch fatties to be too squishy on 90 degree turns on the streets. For gentle turns on a trail they might be fine. Just be aware there are a lot of off-road bikes now with 3-inch tire options, which I like a lot.

4+inch tires, when pumped to 7-9 psi (which is their PROPER working pressure) also exhibit considerably camber torque (self-steering) on high-traction surfaces (especially if you are heavy).
Basically, 4+ inch, true fat bikes truly worth if you ride soft stuff - as in their raison d'etre - snow, sand, etc.
Otherwise 2.5-3 inch are a much better compromise.
 
I agree with most of the above, esp the last comment about how much fat tires steer themselves into turns ..hard.

That being said, I've had some customers that absolutely love them. They usually are non aggressive riders, and the giant contact patch gives them cornering confidence they lost after sliding out on skinny tires, esp in a beach town where there's loose sand on the paths, or dropping the front wheel into a big crack in the street etc.

With the power levels you're running, personally I would go good suspension with 3 inch max, you're in the speed range where rebound control and predictable tracking is going to be important.
 
I would NOT recommend 26x4 for street use. Knobby style are noisy, and slick/semi slick will self steer big time when run at pressures that allow for a comfortable ride.

Suggest you stay under 2.8 or so for use on pavement.
 
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